Box liner blank



Oct. 5, 1965 s. B. STEVENSON 3,209,936

BOX LINER BLANK Filed July 25, 1962 0 c O O c o o o O O o o O 0 o o O O 0 o o o o o o l 62 ,1 m INVENTOR. a2 "2 BY l/lflrrag/vjsi tant.

United States Patent 3,209,936 BOX LiNER BLANK Samuel B. Stevenson, Claremont, Calif, assignor to F.D.S. Manufacturing Company, 1112., Pomona, Calif, a corporation of California Filed July 23, 1962, Ser. No. 211,626 Claims. (Cl. 217-3) The present invention relates generally to the container art, and more particularly to a novel box liner blank and method of forming, which is especially applicable for the production of liners which are used with wooden boxes for the packaging of fruit and vegetables, and particularly grapes.

Briefly stated, one liner blank constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention includes a bottom wall having an end wall and two opposed side walls formed integral therewith and hinged thereto, the end portion of the bottom wall opposite said end wall providing an edge, and two end wall portions formed integral with said side walls and hinged thereto along the sides thereof adjacent the edge of the bottom wall, the aforementioned end wall portions being bendable inwardly to form a complete end wall adjacent the edge of the bottom wall of the same shape and size as the first-mentioned end wall, the complete edges on opposed ends of the liner blank being of complementary, mating configuration, whereby when said blanks are punched from a sheet of elongated material in edge-to-edge relationship, there is no waste material formed between the blanks.

In the packaging of fruits and vegetables, and in the production of liner blanks for use in the boxes in which said produce is packaged, three factors are most impor- One of these is the cost of the liner blanks themselves, another is the ventilation provided by the liner and the third is the ease of usage of the liner blanks, i.e. the speed at which they can be satisfactorily folded and placed within the wooden contrainers by the laborers in the field prior to positioning the fruit within the containers.

It is a primary object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a novel box liner blank and method of forming it which produces liner blanks which are less expensive than the preesntly known box liner blanks. More particularly, it is an object to provide such a liner blank which will require less material but without reducing the size of the liner or the protection afforded thereby. Specifically, it is an object to provide a novel liner blank and method of forming it which reduces the amount of waste material between adjacent liner blanks as they are punched from an elongated sheet of material.

Another object is to provide a novel box liner blank and method which will achieve a substantial savings in the an object to provide such a liner blank employing corrugated material in which the punching or cuttting out operation can be performed as a continuation of and follow immediately after the step of forming the corrugated material or by taking the corrugated material from a previously formed parent roll, without any intermediate squaring up step.

A further object is to provide a novel box liner blank and method which will achieve a further saving in labor cost by reducing the amount of hand stripping required .for removing excess waste material from the blank proper. More particularly, it is an object to provide such a 3,239,936 Patented Oct. 5, 1965 ice liner blank in which the waste material at the ends of adjacent liners is practically completely eliminated.

Yet another object is to provide a novel box liner blank which can be easily and quickly set up and inserted in a wooden box prior to the placing of the fruit or vegetables therein. More particularly, it is an object to provide such a liner blank which is of unitary construction and which can be easily and quickly folded into a complete liner and inserted into a wooden container with a minimum amount of instruction.

An additional object is to provide a novel box liner blank made from corrugated material which incorporates ventilating means. More particularly, it is an object to provide such a liner blank which contains ventilating passageways across the bottom wall portion thereof, and upwardly through the side walls and at least one end wall.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view, in perspective, illustrating a method of manufacturing a box liner blank utlizing the teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of a preferred liner blank construction, illustrating the manner in which the liners fit together during the punching out operation, the spacing between the cut ends of the blanks being exaggerated for purposes of illustration;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 in FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a completed liner as it appears when positioned in a wooden box, the latter being shown in phantom lines.

Referring to the drawing more particularly by reference numerals, 10 indicates generally a liner constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention, which is adapted to be used with a box B (FIG. 4), the liner being preferably produced from single-face corrugated material (although double-faced may be employed) which includes a facing sheet 12 and a corrugated bottom sheet 14 (FIG. 3), the latter being shaped to provide a plurality of spaced-apart grooves or channels 16. The portions of the facing sheet 12 overlying the grooves or channels 16 are slightly depressed so as to provide shallow valleys 18 which are preferably punched adjacent the centers thereof to provide a series of ventilating openings v2t), the material which has been punched out to form the aforementioned openings remaining attached at 'one side thereof to provide tabs 22 which project into said channels or grooves 16, for a purpose to appear.

The liner blank 10 includes a bottom wall 24 which is of substantially the same size and shape as the bottom of the box B, and which includes opposed sides 26 and opposed ends 28 and 30, the latter providing a cut edge. Formed integrally with the bottom wall 24 along the end 28, which functions as a hinge or fold line, is an end wall 32 which has side edges 34 and which also contains a fold line 36 adjacent the outer or upper edge 38 thereof, the distance between the lines 28 and 36 being approximately the same as the inner height of the box B.

Opposed side walls 40 having sides 42 and 44 are hinged to the bottom wall 24 along the sides 26 thereof, the

latter also functioning as fold lines, the outer or upper edges 46 of the side walls being preferably of convex shape as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The side walls 40 preferably contain a plurality of ventilating openings which can take the form of slots 48 adjacent the fold line 26, and circular apertures 50 and elongated apertures 52 spaced apart throughout the body portion of the side walls.

The side 42 of each of the side walls 40 form an edge, and hinged to each of the side walls 40 along the other side 44- thereon is an end wall portion 54, said two end portions when taken together being equal in size and shape to the end wall 32 previously described. Each end wall portion 54 contains a bottom edge 56, a side edge 58, a top edge 60, and a fold line 62 adjacent the top edge which corresponds with the fold line 6 of the end Wall 32.

As will be discussed more fully hereinafter, it will be noted (FIG. 2) that the end edge of the blank formed by the end wall 32 and the end edges 42 of the side walls 40 is complementary with the opposed edge of the blank formed by the edge 30 of the bottom wall 24 and the bottom and side edges 56 and 58, respectively, of the end wall portions 54. Or, stated differently, the opposed end edges of the same liner blank are of complementary, mating configuration.

It will also be noted from a consideration of FIGS. 2 and 4 that the grooves or channels 16 extend transversely of the bottom wall 24 so as to open into the ventilating slots 48, and also extend upwardly in both the side walls 40 and the end wall portions 54. Consequently, when the boxes filled with produce, as for example grapes, are placed in cooling chambers to remove the field heat therefrom, the cold air can flow into the ventilating slots 48 and thence both transversely through the channels or grooves in the bottom wall and up the channels in the side wall and the end wall portions, thereby removing the hot air from around the grapes. Also, because the tabs 22 (FIG. 3) project into the grooves or channels 16 adjacent the punched openings 20, the passage of air through the channels or grooves is disturbed adjacent the openings, thereby causing an appreciable amount of the cooling air to pass through the openings 20 and into the interior of the container between the bunches of grapes. This channeling of the cool air around three sides of the liner as well as across the bottom wall thereof, with an accompanying distribution of the cool air into the interior of the container, greatly increases the cooling rate and shortens the time the containers must be held in the cooling room in order to reduce the temperature of the fruit to the desired level below the field temperature.

The liner blanks are furnished to the customers and reach the laborers in the field in a flattened condition, stacked one on top of the other, and in order to position a liner in a box B, the user merely places the liner on the upper edges of the box with the bottom wall 24 thereof in vertical alignment with the bottom wall of the box, grasps an end wall portion 54 with each hand, folds, the end wall portions (and the side walls 40) inwardly, and, at the same time, pushes the one end of the liner down into the box. Thereafter, he merely strikes the bottom wall 24 adjacent the end wall 32 and the latter folds inwardly along the fold line 28 and the other end of the liner drops into the box B to provide the complete liner as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Turning to a consideration of one method which may be employed in forming the liner blanks 10 (FIG. 1), there is provided a horizontally extending fixed platen or lower die member 64, and a movable upper die member 66 which is mounted for vertical reciprocating movement relative to the lower die member between an upper inoperative position and a lower operative position.

To the left or inlet side of the two disc members is an inlet conveyor or endless belt 68 which carries the sheet of single-face (or double-faced) corrugated material from the forming rolls or from a previously formed parent roll to the two aforementioned die members.

On the right or outlet side of the die members is an outlet conveyor 70 which carries the punched liner blanks 10 away from the die members and past a vacuum system 72 which automatically strips the punched material from the sides of the punched liner blanks. Thus, as the upper die member 66 moves up and down between the inoperative and the operative positions, the inlet conveyor 68 intermittently feeds the single-face corrugated material between the die members 70 and 72 in a continuous step-wise fashion whereby liner blanks 10 are punched out of the material in the manner shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Referring to FIG. 2, it will be noted that inasmuch as the liners are dovetailed or in an interlocking or mating relationship, there is no waste material produced at the corners, as occurs when both end walls are unitary and directly hinged to the bottom wall as is end wall 32. Specifically, with the instant construction, the unitary end wall 32 of one liner blank matches exactly the area between the segmented end wall portions 54 of the next adjacent liner blank whereby the edge 38 of the end wall 32 is contiguous with the edge 30 of the bottom wall 24 of the adjacent liner, the side edges 34 of the end wall 32 are contiguous with the edges 56 of the end wall portions 54, and the side edges 42 of the side Wall 40 are contiguous with the edges 58 of the end wall portions 54. Viewed from another position, the length of each end wall portion 54 is equal to the height of the end wall 32, and is also one-half the length of the end wall 32.

Consequently, the only waste material which occurs in the production of the liner blanks 10 is a thin strip 74 adjacent the convex edge 45 of the side wall, and the punched out portions which form the ventilating slots 48 and openings 50 and 52. As mentioned hereinabove, the strips 74 can be easily and quickly removed by the vacuum stripping means 72 positioned downstream of the die members 64 and 66. It is also obvious that it is preferable to have the edges 66 of the end wall portions 54 coincide with the edges of the sheet of corrugated material so as to avoid the production of any waste material therebetween.

Thus, it will be readily apparent that there has been provided a novel box liner blank and method of forming it which fulfills all of the objects and advantages sought therefor. The juxtaposition or interlocking relationship of the end wall portions of one liner with the end wall of the adjacent liner avoids the loss of the large end cut-outs required at the present time, and the omission of the large waste portions which heretofore had to be stripped from the blanks by hand permits automatic stripping of the small lengths of Waste material which may occur adjacent the convex edges 46. Consequently, there is a considerable saving in both material and labor when the present construction and method is employed. Also, the improved unitary liner construction is easy to use and can be quickly inserted in a box prior to its usage by merely bending in the end wall portions 54 and then striking the bottom wall 24 adjacent the end wall 32.

It is to be understood that the foregoing description and the accompanying drawing have been given only by way of illustration and xample and that changes and alterations in the present disclosure which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention.

I claim:

1. A liner for a box having a bottom, comprising:

a bottom wall of substantially the same size and shape as the bottom of the box, said bottom wall having opposed sides and opposed ends, one of said ends forming an edge;

an end wall formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends;

opposed side walls formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the sides thereof, each of said side walls having opposed ends, one of said ends of each side wall forming an edge; and

an end wall portion formed integral with each of the side walls and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends thereof, the shape and size of the end wall portions, when taken together, being substantially the same as the shape and size of said end wall. 2. A liner for a box having a bottom, comprising: a bottom Wall of substantially the same size and shape as the bottom of the box, said bottom wall having 5 opposed sides and opposed ends, one of said ends forming an edge;

an end wall formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends;

opposed side walls formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the sides thereof, each of said side walls having opposed ends, one of said ends of each side Wall forming an edge; and

an end wall portion formed integral with each of the side walls and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends thereof, the length of each of said end wall portions being substantially the same as the height of said end wall.

3. A liner for a box having a bottom, comprising:

a bottom wall of substantially the same size and shape as the bottom of the box, said bottom wall having opposed sides and opposed ends, one of said ends forming an edge;

an end wall formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends;

opposed side walls formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the sides thereof, each of said side walls having opposed ends, one of said ends of each side wall forming an edge; and

an end wall portion formed integral with each of the side walls and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends thereof, the length of each of said end wall portions being approximately one-half the length of said end wall, and the length of said end wall being approximately twice the height thereof.

4. A box liner blank, comprising:

a bottom wall having opposed sides and opposed ends, one of said ends forming a portion of a liner blank first side edge;

an end wall formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends, the outer periphery of the end wall forming a portion of a liner blank second side edge;

opposed side walls formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the sides thereof, each of said side walls having opposed ends, one of said ends of each side wall forming a portion of said liner blank second side edge; and

an end wall portion formed integral with each of the side walls and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends thereof, the end and inner periphery of each of the end wall portions forming a portion of said liner blank first side edge, said first and second side edges of the liner blank being of complementary, mating configuration.

5. A box liner blank made from a sheet of corrugated material including a facing sheet and a corrugated sheet forming a plurality of spaced-apart channels therewith,. comprising:

a bottom wall having opposed sides and opposed ends,

one of said ends forming an edge;

an end wall formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the other of said ends;

opposed side walls formed integral with the bottom wall and being hinged thereto along the sides thereof, each of said side walls having opposed ends, the end of each side wall adjacent the end wall forming an edge;

an end wall portion formed integral with each side wall and being hinged thereto along said other end thereof, the channels of the corrugations extending transversely of the bottom wall between the sides thereof and extending to the outer periphery of the side walls and the end wall portions, whereby when the liner is folded into an operative position the channels in the side walls and in the end Wall portions extend vertically; and

a plurality of punched openings in the facing sheet in communication with said channels, the material punched from the facing sheet extending into said channels as tabs which interfere with the free flow of air through said channels.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,926,600 9/ 33 Roland 2173 1,933,869 11/33 Mosesian 21740 1,983,323 12/34 Stokes 9336 2,056,093 9/36 Clolf 93-36 2,165,070 7/39 Ringler 229--16 2,190,955 2/40 Sykes 217--3 2,429,540 10/47 Woodruff 22916 2,609,956 9/52 Stevenson 217-42 2,991,898 7/61 Fischer et al 2173 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

EARLE J. DRUMMOND, FRANKLIN T. GARRETT,

Examiners. 

1. A LINER FOR A BOX HAVING A BOTTOM, COMPRISING: A BOTTOM WALL OF SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME SIZE AND SHAPE AS THE BOTTOM OF THE BOX, SAID BOTTOM WALL HAVING OPPOSED SIDES AND OPPOSED ENDS, ONE OF SAID ENDS FORMING AN EDGE; AN END WALL FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE BOTTOM WALL AND BEING HINGED THERETO ALONG THE OTHER, OF SAID ENDS; OPPOSED SIDE WALLS FORMED INTEGRAL WITH THE BOTTOM WALL AND BEING HINGED THERETO ALONG THE SIDES THEREOF, EACH OF SAID SIDE WALLS HAVING OPPOSED ENDS, ONE OF SAID ENDS OF EACH SIDE WALL FORMING AN EDGE; AND 